The average house price grew 0.9 per cent between March and April to reach £179,817 in England and Wales, latest official data shows.

In the last year, this represents growth of 5.1 per cent, the lowest annual rise in 14 months, the Land Registry said. In the last monthly index, yearly growth was a shade higher at 5.3 per cent, having fallen gradually since last summer.

As a region, London experienced the greatest increase in property values over the last 12 months with a prices up 10.9 per cent on average.

Cult hero: Ricky Gervais as David Brent in TV show The Office, which was based in Slough - the area which has seen the greatest increase in house prices

The North East is the only region to see prices fall in the last year, with a small decrease of 0.6 per cent, the figures show.

However, at a local level, the biggest boom in house prices was recorded in Slough, home to hit sitcom The Office. Prices in the Berkshire town have risen 13.7 per cent in the last year to reach £203,325.

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Yorkshire and the Humber recorded the largest monthly rise, with prices up 2.7 per cent. Wales saw the largest monthly price decrease with a fall of 1.1 per cent.

The Land Registry index saw house values peak at £181,014 in November 2007.

Nicholas Leeming, chairman of upmarket national estate agents, Jackson-Stops & Staff, said: 'Increased investment in Yorkshire, Humberside and the evolution of the Northern Powerhouse in Manchester have contributed to a surge in confidence in these areas.'

The data comes amid an overall fall in housing market activity. In the period between November 2014 to February 2015, sales volumes averaged 64,196 transactions per month.

This is a decrease from the same period a year earlier, when sales volumes averaged 73,156 per month.

It also showed the number of properties sold in England and Wales for more than £1million decreased by 18 per cent to 722 from 882 a year earlier, a potential knock-on from the uncertainty created by the general election.

Encouragingly, repossessions in England and Wales decreased by 37 per cent to 638 compared with 1,016 in February 2014.

Howard Archer, chief economist at IHS Global Insight, said: 'We have lifted our forecast house price increase in 2015 to six per cent from five per cent, partly due to the increased upward impact on prices coming from a lack of properties on the market.

'We also suspect that the housing market will benefit from reduced uncertainty following the decisive general election result.'

Last month, the Office for National Statistics said property prices increased by 9.6 per cent in the year to March 2015, up from 7.4 per cent recorded the previous month.

Meanwhile, the latest monthly property index from Halifax said the average property price now stands at a record £196,412.

It said on an annual basis, prices were 8.5 per cent higher in the three months to April compared to 8.1 per cent in the three months to March.

HOUSE PRICE HOTSPOTS: HOW SLOUGH LEADS THE WAY...

According to the Land Registry, a number of areas in Britain have seen property prices grow by double digit percentages in the last 12 months: